My wife & I are the usual seasoned-citizen suspects with co-morbidities galore! Gigi (age 70 with lupus, Parkinson’s - like neurodegenerative disease with symptoms restricted to her lower extremities, hypothyroidism) and I (age 78 with asthma, coronary artery disease with stent, and monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance [MGUS], surgically-cured malignant melanoma). On the advice of her rheumatologist, we decided to take the J&J vaccine. We opted, at her suggestion, to avoid the mRNA “vaccines”, as we both have immunological problems (lupus, MGUS). Possible effects on the immune system by these novel chemicals remains a big unknown; there is growing evidence that some of the early “conspiracy theories” are transmogrifying into conspiracy facts; that is another story, however.
We managed to avoid it until now - Gigi by staying home, more due to immobility than caution. She recently underwent bilateral hip replacements and was only recently diagnosed and treated for the gait disorder with anti-Parkinson’s meds. Thus she has been more mobile in the past 6 months and going to physical therapy 3 times/week. In my case, I had more potential exposure because I did all the grocery shopping and worked as a doc on the detox unit every Saturday for all but the first 2 months of the original hysteria. I did wear a PAPR (powered air purifying respirator), gown and gloves at all times until I retired at then end of March 2022. I wore a mask underneath to protect those near me.PAPR’s, you see filter only the air supplied to the helmet. The overpressure supplied at the face is allowed to leak out to ambient air around the edges of the helmet; the seal is firm, but not hermetic; it includes my exhaled gases (& any bugs) - thus the mask under the helmet.
An aside about masks. I suffer from both normalcy bias and confirmation bias as to their use. I worked in operating rooms of hospitals, you see, beginning at age 16, initially as an OJT scrub nurse - though I eventually worked my way down the OR hierarchy to anesthesiologist (inside joke, understood by all who know surgeons) following med school and residency. So, I had worn masks most of my waking hours for almost 40+ years. Rationally, I think they are probably marginally beneficial in crowded, minimally-ventilated indoor locations. On the other hand, there may be some recent evidence that they may increase risk of severe pulmonary Covid in wearers. Validity of that is pending. I have continued to wear N95’s indoors right up until I got sick 4 days ago. My wife became ill with it 5 days before me.
Her first symptom was feeling light-headed, mentally cloudy, weak and slightly unsteady. The next day she felt prodromal, toxic and had a temp of 101.4. She was already taking hydroxychloroquine for lupus, so she continued that and added ivermectin (you know, the horse de-wormer), along with her usual 10,000U vitamin D and zinc lozenges. Rather than the recommended azithromycin, I gave her doxycycline because of a history of C.diff. She also continued her usual Pepcid 20 mg bid, along with 10mg melatonin. She was able to eat and drink throughout. Each afternoon, she spiked a fever, never higher than 101.4, diminishing each day. She developed a productive cough on day 3, which was gone by yesterday, along with her fever. Today, day 8, she feels completely normal. The course of ivermectin was for 5 days, 6mg/day in divided doses. There were no side effects from any of the medications.
In passing, I should emphasize that these drugs are all completely legal and categorized as “safe and effective” on their labels by the imperial FDA, unlike the mRNA “vaccines” or the only “officially approved” treatment - Paxlovid. These drugs, so forcefully “pushed” by the state, all have significant (and intentionally un-reported) toxicities and are only allowed under emergency use authorizations". The medications I gave my wife, on the other hand - called “repurposed” drugs - were prescribed by me, LEGALLY, “off label”. The eternal fact and long standing medical standard is that any physician may prescribe any “safe and effective” medication for any condition that the physician suggests and the patient gives informed consent (this idea, which fills hundreds of pages of requirements in the Federal Register, ceased to exist in practice when it came to Covid dictates). Informed consent was not long ago, the essential foundation of medical practice in the US, as I said, codified in hundreds of regulations. As with the Constitution, the basis of medicine is now coercion. The FDA, medical societies, state boards of medicine, medical schools - all ignored the law and practice and by fiat disciplined and fired physicians for apostasy - for prescribing the medications I lawfully and ethically gave my wife. Even Pepcid, an OTC H2 blocker, could not be repurposed according to our liege lords.
My illness began 5 ays after Gigi’s. She stayed at bedrest and I somehow managed to keep on keepin’ on taking her meds, food, etc. I slept on the couch downstairs. Now I have had two prior episodes of month-long severe bronchitis over the past 25 years. I started such an episode about a month before my wife got Covid. I had been coughing and wheezing continuously. I had been coughing productively and wheezing - using an albuterol inhaler. I never had a fever. A week in I did a Covid test - negative. I took a Z-Pak for 5 days with no obvious effect. A week later, I alternated 100mg doxycycline and 250 mg amoxacillin for 4 days. Again, no obvious improvement, but I didn’t spike a temp or develop pneumonia. I figured, the bronchitis is obviously viral; RSV is very prevalent nowadays. It may actually block Covid via natural interferon or I may get Covid on top of it, in which case I could be in trouble. So, I started low-dose hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin (half of Gigi’s dose) as prophylaxis. Didn’t work (or maybe lessened my disease?). Once I developed a mild headache, my cough increased, and for the first time in a month, I actually had upper respiratory symptoms (severe runny nose and sneezing, of which I surprisingly had none during the entire bronchitis month) I tested again & was positive. That was 4 days ago. I went to full doses and continued my usual Pepcid, melatonin, vitamin D, and albuterol inhaler. Saturday, the cough and wheezing was so intense that I had pain where the anterior diaphragm inserts on the rib cage. I had been also taking Mucinex and Tesslon Perls for the cough, without much help. Since my oxygen saturation was still 96% I had no intention of going to the hospital; I have two oxygen concentrators and a ventilating BiPAP machine at home for just such an emergency, but did not need them because I also has another repurposed and initially-forbidden drug: dexamethasone -] a powerful steroid. I took a moderate dose Saturday night and my symptoms improved dramatically in an hour. Another dose Sunday night and no cough or wheezing at all. Today I feel normal, with an occasional cough and no wheezing. I plan to taper the moderate dose of dexamethasone over then next four nights. I never had any fever at all. In addition to the symptoms described, I had some dyspnea when I climbed the stairs and felt easily fatigued. I was glad I was able to help Gigi, nonetheless.
So, we are both on the mend. Should any “authorities” above-mentioned become aware of my treating my wife as I did, I could face repercussions. Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. Hell no, I am definitely NOT even having any violent fantasies because of the persecution perpetrated by “officials” on physicians who actually want to help their patients by doing things which have always been lawful! - until the rule of law suddenly died of Covid. (Advocating violence, we all know is only permitted in favor of BLM on Twitter & other anti-social media; you see, since I am certain that all lives matter™ and I would treat anyone this way who wanted me to - right up until they arrested me for doing so; saying that out loud, we also know, would make a prima facie case that I am a bad human being and the MSM would amplify this, sforzando.). BTW, I estimate the cost of all the medication I gave the both of my wife and myself (which I purchased at the very beginning of the plandemic) was about $100 and I still have enough left to treat probably 5 more people. Oh, they could also prosecute me and revoke my license because some of these superb medications have expired by a few months (“full of sound and fury” and signifying “regulatory capture”. The FDA claims it is “doing something” to protect the public from bad drugs, while the pharmaceutical industry racks up more sales and profits. Do you know what happens to outdated drugs in hospitals? They are given to charities who take these “bad” drugs and use them on patients in third world countries. Win, win, win, lose. The regulators successfully regulate & drive up hospital costs , the hospitals are “good” they “comply” with the regulators; charities get to wear white hats (soon to be repurposed with Black hats (TV commercials suggest a change in color preferences - you know, how “green” is always the greatest color); the only losers are American health consumers, who already pay the highest drug prices on the planet, and now get to subsidize charities they were hereby forced to unknowingly support through their health insurance premiums.
I know, this is a rant. I will say in my defense, however, there is much here that is rant-worthy. Until the revolution is fought by those younger, stronger and healthier than me - it’s the best I can muster!
(Actually, setting this forth has so drained me that I lack the force to edit it any further. If you have tolerated reading this far, I beg your indulgence. If you haven’t made it this far, I freely offer my [virtual] understanding). Should I suffer a Covid recrudescence and perish, I will nonetheless attempt to get the word out, at least - barring more aesthetic means - via putrefaction.
